


The Aftermath of Gravemoss

by danke_rose



Category: Excalibur (Comic)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Injury Recovery, kurtty - Freeform, might be a little angsty?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23484496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danke_rose/pseuds/danke_rose
Summary: Kurt wakes up with no memory of how he wound up in the infirmary.  Kitty is there to tell him the story.
Relationships: Kitty Pryde & Kurt Wagner
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	The Aftermath of Gravemoss

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after Excalibur 85, third in the Soul Sword Trilogy. The necromancer Gravemoss possesses Kurt's body mid-teleport and wreaks havoc on the Research Center while Kitty attempts to take him out with the Soul Sword and her combat skills.

Kurt ached all over. He inhaled and a spike of pain shot through his left side. _Broken ribs maybe_? He didn't remember getting in a fight. His jaw throbbed, too, and his tongue hurt. Did he bite it? He wanted to look at himself, but his eyes were sticky and wouldn't open. He raised a heavy arm to touch his head, to stop the incessant pounding, like a marching band inside his ears.

A soft hand prevented the movement, and with it the familiar voice of his best friend breaking through the fog in his brain.

“Easy, Kurt. You're beat up pretty bad. Lie still.”

He tried to work his jaw, but it was sore and his lip felt thick and puffy. Nothing more than a “hmnnnn” came out.

“You probably want to know what happened,” Kitty said. Her fingers stroked his arm, and he flexed his hand, only to find that his wrist hurt, too. Was there any part of him still whole? Her skin against his felt cool, and he wondered if he was feverish.

“It's okay to open your eyes. Moira put something on them for the swelling.”

He managed to pry one open and eventually focus on the blurry outline of her. She leaned closer and kissed his forehead. Her hand danced over the side of his face, delicate, like a butterfly.

“The worst is some bruised ribs and a broken finger on your other hand—no don't move it. You've got a bunch of other injuries too. Kurt, I'm _so_ sorry.”

She kissed his forehead again, lingering, and he heard the ragged intake of her breath. She stood up and his eyes focused with some difficulty until he could see the fear and worry on her face. He wanted to comfort her, but he had no idea what had happened. He tried to remember, but nothing came to him except the last few things he'd done.

He remembered finding Kitty on the hill past the research center, melancholy and lost in thought. He recalled her telling him he was her best friend, and the way he'd played off how much that had meant to him. She'd inspected the crates of clothing from Jubilee and mail Bishop had delivered. Later, he remembered the sound of a fight from upstairs in the Research Center, and teleporting to investigate. Everything after that was a blank, no matter how hard he tried to bring the memories to his consciousness.

Kitty returned her hand to his arm. Even as she stroked him, she avoided his worst injuries. Her touch was almost maddeningly light, but it distracted him from the discomfort of his injuries. He focused on the gentle sensation of her fingers scraping up and down through his fur, and tried to relax. His chest hurt when he breathed. He worked his tongue cautiously around in his mouth, trying to relieve the dryness without aggravating the bitten place. Kitty reached away from him. He felt something cool and wet against his lips.

“Can you open your mouth a little? I have a straw here and some water.” He pried them open and Kitty poked the straw in. He sucked gratefully, the water coating his mouth and throat.

Moira's voice sounded in the room beyond Kitty. “Ah, how's our wee patient?”

Kitty replied, “Awake and having a drink of water.”

“See now, I told you he'd come through okay.”

Moira stepped over to his side, and with his one half-cracked eye, he could see the white of her labcoat moving closer. Kitty shifted down the cot, away from him, and he wished she wouldn't leave.

“I'm checking your eyes, not that _they'll_ tell me if you're concussed or not.”

Kitty laid a hand on his ankle, and he relaxed. She was still there, even if he couldn't see her.

Moira eased his other eye open, and he blinked rapidly. “Hold on, I'll put in some more drops,” Moira said, and he forced the eye open again. Once the blurring stopped he could open it with little trouble. She applied the same drops to his other eye, and after a while spent blinking out a lot of goop, he could see almost normally again. One eye was swollen, but it didn't hinder his vision enough to matter.

Now that he could look around, he wished Moira would go away so he could see Kitty's face again. It would tell him more about his state of health than Moira was right now. But the doctor remained, shining a light in his eyes again— _useless_ —and taking his temperature. Then he noticed the black eye she bore, and the swollen lip. What the hell had happened here and _why couldn't he remember any of it_?

Meggan and Brian rushed in, looking concerned, and behind them a charred Douglock followed.

“Oh, Kurt, we were all so worried,” Meggan said, patting his bruised arm. He winced, and Kitty leaned across his legs to ease Meggan's hand away from the injury. Sweet, gentle Meggan. She gasped and pulled her hand away, tearing up.

Brian stood watching, hands on hips, and said, “Glad you're going to be all right, Nightcrawler. Kitty did a number on you.”

Kurt jerked his head painfully in her direction, and a shock of pain flashed up his neck into the base of his skull. He grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut, which also hurt. He groaned, and Moira scolded Brian.

“Now then Britanic, he's just woke up and she hasn't told him anything yet, you big lug. Go on now, all of you, and leave us be.” She shooed them away, and they left, apologizing and wishing him well.

Moira finished her examination. “I'm off now, an' Kitty'll tell you the whole thing.”

He remembered another time Moira had left Kitty to give him bad news. She moved closer and at last he could study her face. Her eyes were pink and she looked like she'd been crying, which was unusual. Had she, too, been attacked? Had he been defending her? What had happened to Moira?

He swallowed and tried to find his voice. “Kitty?”

Kitty suddenly found his hand fascinating. “It's a long story. Not that you're going anywhere,” she attempted a laugh, but it was flat.

She pushed away from the cot for a moment, gathering her thoughts, and let her eyes rake over him, from black eyes to swollen lip to bruised ribs. He was a mess, and she'd done it. Kurt snaked his tail around—at least _that_ didn't hurt—and stroked her cheek. She leaned into the affection and moved close to the cot again.

“Do you remember when Bishop came with supplies and mail? Jubilee sent all those clothes?”

He made a sound of acknowledgment and she continued. “Well, when I tried them on, something happened to me. The Soul Sword. It was _in_ _me_. And it made me do some _awful_ things.”

Her eyes flashed a mix of emotions, too fast for Kurt to read in his groggy state of mind. He'd have to be patient and let her tell the tale. She had a gift for storytelling, when she was in the mood. He thought briefly of the first story she'd told, years ago, to a young Illyana at bedtime. On Barsoom she'd turned something terrifying into a tale of adventure.

This story didn't seem to be one she wanted to share. He watched her stiffen her spine and set her jaw to finish, putting on that brave face, like Kitty did. He forgot, sometimes, how brave she could be.

She said, “I punched Moira, and I would have...I was _going_ to kill her. The sword wanted me to. Brian stopped me. We thought you were there, too, but now we know...Then Meggan's powers went haywire and we had to take her to the infirmary again.”

Kitty tried to _kill Moira_? It made no sense. His voice was a gravelly whisper. “I don't remember this.”

“Shhh, you shouldn't try to talk yet. I _really_ hurt you.”

At his puzzled expression she continued. She had his two good fingers in her hands now, fiddling with them absently. He curled them around her hand in a weak squeeze. She hadn't stopped touching him since he woke up. He didn't want her to stop. She had been an almost constant presence in his life since she'd joined the team, and though he might deny it outwardly, her presence and closeness was a relief.

“Brian knocked me out, and when I woke up in the infirmary, things were crazy around here. A sorceress named Shrill was in the infirmary looking for me. Every time the sword is drawn, she experiences terrible pain. She wanted to destroy it but she couldn't, so she was going to kill _me_ instead.”

While she told him about the necromancer Gravemoss, and Shrill the sorceress vying over the sword, he considered how many times she'd been left alone, by intention or accident, to deal with a deadly enemy. Too many times, and he felt like a failure. He should have been there to protect her. Where had he been?

“Gravemoss possessed your body and came after me, and I beat him up. Well, I beat him up while he was in your body. Shrill wanted me to kill you to stop him.”

He watched a single tear trickle down her cheek, and she brushed it away in annoyance. “But I remembered I could get him out of you with the sword, so I did.”

“My brave Kätzchen,” he said, and tried to smile. He wanted to give her some reassurance that it was all right, that _he_ was all right.

“You won't think that in a minute,” she said, letting her eyes roam the room before continuing the tale. “Amanda showed up, and stopped Shrill—I don't know what she did to her. Maybe she killed her, I don't know. And...” She sniffed and blinked.

“It's okay, Kätzchen,” he croaked.

Kitty shook her head. “No, it's _not_. Amanda told me to give her the Soul Sword. Kurt, I don't know why I did it! I didn't want to. She said it wasn't part of Illyana at all. She promised to keep it safe...” Kitty stopped abruptly, leaving his hand lying cold on the cot when she crossed the room to get a tissue. “Sorry,” she said when she came back. “I gave the sword to Amanda. And she killed Gravemoss with it.”

“That's not your fault,” Kurt said, reaching with his fingers for her hand. She scooped her hand under his so gently, and he squeezed, ignoring the discomfort.

Kitty wiped her eyes with the tissue again, and attempted a weak smile for him. She was supposed to be making him feel better, not the other way around. She took a deep breath and smiled again, trying to decide what part of him to focus on when everything was broken or battered or swollen. His hand was warm, though, and she took a little comfort in that.

“I walked away from you,” she continued more calmly. “I left you lying on the floor, all messed up like this. I gave Amanda the sword. And _I don't know why I did any of it_. Halfway down the hall, it felt like waking up from a dream. I actually thought it had all been a dream. But it wasn't, and I don't know where Amanda is.”

She finished with an exhale he could feel dusting across his arm.

“You did all this?” Kurt said. He'd ask about Amanda later. Right now, his concern was for his best friend, standing beside him and trying to convince him she wasn't upset.

“Yeah. I beat you up.”

“Well done,” he said, and she laughed.

It was a good sound to hear, and did more for his spirits than anything else. She turned and grabbed the cup, holding it out to him.

“You want any more water?” At his slight nod, she held it to his lips again.

He reached up and covered her hand with his as he sipped the water. “I'm glad you're here,” he said.

She took away the cup and laid his hand on the cot, smoothing the fur down to his fingers. “You should get some rest.”

His eyes suddenly felt very heavy, as if her suggestion to rest had somehow made him sleepy. Just before he drifted off, he felt the soft press of her lips on his cheek.

“Don't worry,” she whispered. “I'll be here when you wake up.”

**Author's Note:**

> She remembers that she can get Gravemoss out of Kurt's body by cutting him with it, and does so. No explanation is given in canon for where Shrill ends up. Amanda shows up and kills Gravemoss and "Kitty Pryde walks back to her life" which seems rather out of character to me. She just beat the living crap out of her self-proclaimed best friend, and she's going to leave him there? It's very strange to me. Anyway, this was my take on what might have happened after that.


End file.
